Guys,What color is best for hiding Scratches

I know that the darker colours really do show the scratches.

When I bought my Forry, I got it in silver (light not dark) on the pretence that it would hide/mask the scratches. It does to a certain extent, but not as well as I had hoped. :evil:

My understanding is that white is the best colour to hide scratches. :iconwink:

Maybe some of the other guys who have white Suby's could let us know.

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
MUD :lol:

I think silver does OK and my white Triton hasn't been abused enough yet to really tell; but so far it's not showing any obvious signs of scratching.
 
White is the hardest paint and Black is the softest paint of the Subaru range according to a Detailer whose workshop I attended last year.

His claim was the darker the color the softer the paint and the lighter the paint the harder.

I had an MY01 Red Liberty and it showed every little spec of dust and the slightest scuff mark, it was a PITBA to maintain the paintwork but it looked a million dollars when it had been detailed though.
 
Good responses. I twould be great if we could get 20 - 30 more responses so we could form a consensus. Everyone would benefit. Keep em coming guys!!! And Thanks, challis
 
I also have a Grey Mica Liberty/Legacy which hasn't been washed for 23 months and lives outside all the time and always looks relatively clean, the rain seems to do a pretty good job but my dark blue offroader has probably been washed 4 times in 6 months and lives in the garage and always manages to look filthy.
 
As I said earlier, silver is ok (but not the best colour) for hiding scratches.

d_generate said:
I also have a Grey Mica Liberty/Legacy which hasn't been washed for 23 months and lives outside all the time and always looks relatively clean,
Click to expand...

However, for dust etc, from normal city life, my silver one masks it's dirty appearance fairly well & doesn't tend to really show the dirt that much.

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
My 'champaigne' (silver / bronze) Outback picked up a few bush speed stripes over new year, but they aren't really noticeable until washed. I'm hoping they will buff out. They would certainly be more noticeable if the car was a dark colour.
To put it in perspective however, even if you try and keep the car pristine and were never to go off road, some fcuknuckle in a car park will ding you with their door.
poop happens, so better that it be as a result of you having fun!
Incidentally, just another reason why I wouldn't buy a new car - let the other bloke take the hit on depreciation!
 
My white Forester is pretty good at hiding scratches. I mainly only notice them when I'm washing the car.

Regards,

Joel
 
any lighter metallic color should hide pretty well. my silver '99 has quite a bit on it as it's last home was on a ranch, but you really have to get close and catch it in the right light to see them. as i have tried matching the color (yet to suceed), i would imagine white being better in that category.
 
+1 for white.

It shows dirt & scratches less (or conceals them more - depending on your point of view)
It's easier to match/blend if individual panels (or sections of panels) need to be resprayed AND slight mismatches don't show up as much as with other colours.
It fades less from prolonged exposure to the sun (reflecting an earlier comment about white paint being "harder")
It's more visible under most driving conditions - day and night - except snow/fog (fluoro orange is best!).
It's not a barrier to resale in the way that other more "individual" colours can be.

Downside is it can be a bit boring and innocuous - although sometimes that's not a bad thing.
 
Silver is the hardest color to get perfect when doing Paintless Dent Removal or covering up deep scratches according to a PDR guy.
He said it doesn't how much time he spends on a Silver Subaru you can still see where the dent was to a degree because the bending does something to the way the light is reflected off the paint.
 
My metallic blue L series has done well considering its offroad abuse and the almost 440k kms its done :twisted:

Dunno if you can still get this colour though :D

Cheers

Bennie
 
Based on all the responses from the guys White is the best exterior color for hiding scratches, matching paint,and hardness. challis
 
I have dark blue and the scratches really show. But it's great parking at the shops because people avoid parking next to me :)
 
Beige,

Almost as boring as white (maybe more!) 20 years, and these days rarely polished. Lucky to get a wash every few months. Plenty of off roading, and the scratches, and dirt just blend in. Only noticable when half the car is washed and half is not.

Beigewagon.
 
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